Have a Little Faith
by ijustkeepswimming
Summary: Charlie and Joey have been together for four years... there was no infidelity/temporary insanity and Joey never left!
1. Chapter 1

_After the traumatic but temporarily ending of _Writing to Reach You_, I thought I'd write a more cheerful (but still somewhat dramatic, I hope!) story, set four years in the future where there was no cheating and no leaving. Title courtesy of the lovely Lulu, who was a wonderful sounding board!_

**Have a Little Faith**

**Chapter One**

Leah walked into the kitchen to the smell of baking and the sight of a mess. A bra was slung on the back of a chair, a t-shirt had been dropped on the floor and there was a chocolate hand print on the table. She shook her head.

"I don't even want to know," she said to herself.

Looking up, she heard giggling as her flushed housemates, Charlie and Joey entered the room. Charlie blanched when she saw her.

"Oh!" she said. "Hey, Leah. We were um… baking."

She was wearing shorts and a pyjama top and Leah allowed herself an amused smile as she watched her frantically scan the room for her day clothes. Leah pointed them out and Charlie made a grab for them looking mortified, although after four years of living with the couple, this was hardly the first time she'd caught them getting carried away in the middle of the afternoon. Joey, who was dressed properly, grinned at her girlfriend's embarrassment and headed to the oven to peer inside and see whether their cake was ready yet.

"I guess that's one way to pass the time," Leah commented, setting her bag down.

Charlie left the room to get changed. Joey rummaged around for oven gloves.

"Like you and Roman have never…" Joey grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Leah asked, changing the subject.

Joey chuckled and took the cake out of the oven, just as Charlie re-entered the kitchen, bringing with her the mixing bowl they'd abducted earlier.

"Want some cake?" Joey asked both women.

"Dare I?" Leah said worriedly.

"Don't worry. We made it before we started..."

Charlie poked her in the arm to stop her talking. Leah laughed.

"Maybe a small slice," she said.

"Okay, just let me do the icing."

"Do you guys want some privacy for that?"

* * *

That night, Joey and Charlie lay in bed in the darkness waiting for sleep to claim them. As usual, Joey was on her side, facing the wall while Charlie was curled up into her, wrapping her lean body around her partner.

"I think we should go away," Joey said absently.

"Away?" Charlie repeated sleepily.

"I can hire a boat from work and we could take off for a little holiday."

"That would be nice."

Charlie snuggled in a little tighter and kissed Joey's neck. Joey smiled into the darkness and allowed her hand to reach behind her and pull Charlie in close.

"I'm going to start doing some overtime to save up," she said.

"There's no need," said Charlie. "We can pay for it together."

"No. I want to."

"But…"

Joey turned her head slightly.

"Please?"

Charlie sighed. She knew how stubborn Joey could get about these things.

"Whatever you say," she said.

She kissed Joey's lips and whispered goodnight.

* * *

Two days later, Charlie was not in a good mood and she was making sure everyone in the house knew about it. So far she had snapped at Leah, Roman, VJ, Ruby and Xavier and two of those people didn't even live there. And one was only a child! For two full days, Joey had been out early and back late and not even made time to have lunch with her. Two dinners had been left to go cold, phone calls had been rushed and texts had only received vague replies. While Charlie had been desperately trying to remind herself that the only reason Joey was working so hard was because she wanted to take Charlie on holiday, somehow it didn't seem to be a valid reason. She didn't want to go away so badly that she wanted Joey to be absent from her life. What was the point in that? Slouched on the sofa, Charlie frowned at the television. Her ears pricked up when she heard the sound of someone coming in through the back door.

"Honey, I'm home!" Joey called.

Ruby and Xavier leapt up from their seats as Charlie jerked her head in Joey's direction without smiling.

"Dude, you are in so much trouble," Xavier commented, as Ruby dragged him off to her bedroom.

Joey looked a little unnerved as she ventured over to her partner. Charlie had her arms folded across her chest.

"I missed you," Joey began.

"I'm surprised you remember who I am," Charlie replied.

"Oh, don't be like that," Joey said.

She placed a hand on Charlie's thigh and began stroking the flesh she found there. She smiled into Charlie's unhappy face. Despite herself, Charlie felt her bad mood begin to dissipate. It was ever so hard to stay cranky with Joey for long. She was too sweet.

"I'm just trying to save up some cash so I can take you away," Joey said.

She placed a kiss on Charlie's cheek.

"Far away on a beautiful boat where we can enjoy the sunshine and the water and the pleasure of each other's company and… well, the pleasure of each other."

She grinned wickedly and planted a kiss on Charlie's mouth, never letting her hand subside. Charlie grinned back and felt her body relax. Joey leant over and kissed her more deeply.

"Forgive me?" Joey asked, pulling reluctantly away.

"Depends how much you missed me," Charlie replied.

"Oh, I missed you a lot," Joey said. "I can show you if you like."

They kissed again.

* * *

The following day, Charlie was disappointed to find that Joey was up and out before sunrise. She had been vaguely aware of being kissed on the mouth at some un-Godly hour but she hadn't been conscious enough to really register it. And now Joey had sent her a text to say that she couldn't make lunch. Pacing the kitchen, looking at the sandwiches she'd already prepared before she'd received her partner's message, Charlie sighed. She really didn't want this holiday so much that she was happy to forget what Joey looked like for the next however long. Coming to a snap decision, she reached for some foil and wrapped each sandwich up and put them carefully in her bag before heading down to the wharf. She and Joey were having lunch and that was final.

Charlie marched down to the wharf and spied the boat that Joey was devoting all her time to. She peered at the deck, trying to spot the woman she'd fallen so passionately in love with four years ago. It had been difficult for Charlie to accept that she was attracted to another woman and after some initial hesitation they'd finally admitted their feelings and not looked back since. Coming out hadn't been the easiest thing in the world but eventually Ruby and their friends had got used to them being a couple and until her current grumpiness had set in, Charlie had never been happier. She smiled as she spotted Joey standing in the sunshine in a pair of denim shorts and a tight black vest which showed off a beautiful figure and tanned skin. Charlie stopped smiling when she saw Joey laughing heartily while a beautiful blonde woman touched her affectionately on the arm, leaning in close to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Gripping her bag tightly, Charlie took a deep breath and marched up to the boat. She never took her eyes away from Joey and the blonde who had stepped away from each other but were still chatting away merrily. Joey was back to work but the fact that the blonde's eyes were firmly fixed on Joey's backside was not lost on Charlie. She swallowed hard, her mind overwrought with this being the reason why Joey had been doing so much overtime. She'd thought the two of them were so happy together. Their relationship had been so flawless for four whole years. Joey couldn't be attracted to someone else, could she? She couldn't be cheating. That was not the Joey that Charlie knew and loved so passionately. No, it wasn't possible. Convincing herself that she was jumping to conclusions, Charlie relaxed her grip on her bag, took a breath and plastered a smile on her face.

"Hey!" she called pleasantly, as she reached the boat.

Joey stopped and peered over the side. She spotted Charlie, grinned joyfully and waved. Her smile comforted Charlie immediately. There was no way that Joey would be that thrilled to see her if she'd almost been caught with another woman. Charlie smiled back, happy and relieved as Joey jumped over the side and enveloped Charlie into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Joey asked, pulling back ever so slightly.

"I decided to ignore your lunch rejection," Charlie said.

Joey frowned at Charlie's choice of words.

"It wasn't a rejection. I just don't have time…"

"To come all the way home for lunch," Charlie finished. "I know. You said. So I brought lunch to you."

She tapped her bag and smiled. Joey grinned back.

"You're so sweet."

"So, can I steal you away from your precious boat for a few minutes?" Charlie asked.

Joey looked up at her boss, the blonde who was hovering nearby and watching their interaction.

"Do you mind if I have a quick lunch break?" she asked.

The blonde nodded and shrugged.

"It was you who said you couldn't afford the time, Joey," she said. "I'm not a slave driver."

"I know. I know," Joey replied. "Oh, Charlie, this is Lauren, by the way."

Charlie waved stiffly. She still didn't like her. The woman had obviously been checking Joey out earlier. Obviously Charlie couldn't blame her – she had a body to die for – but the only person who got to look and touch was Charlie and she was very firm about that. Lauren waved back and then ran her hands through her hair. Charlie eyed Joey for any signs of attraction but didn't find any, although Lauren was undeniably beautiful.

"I'll see you in half an hour!" Joey called, taking Charlie's arm and walking away with her.

***

Charlie and Joey walked a little way along the beach before settling down with their lunch. They sat side by side, facing the ocean. Joey leant against Charlie's shoulder for a couple of moments.

"Thank you for being so thoughtful," she said.

Charlie could hear the smile in her voice without even needing to look at her. She reached out to squeeze Joey's hand and smiled back.

"It was pure selfishness really," she said. "I kind of like your company."

"I guess I've not been around much, huh?" Joey realised.

"Understatement!" Charlie said.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, not sure she entirely meant it. "I know you're trying to save up the cash."

"I want to take you away, that's all," Joey said.

"We could pool our money together," Charlie began.

"I want to do it myself," Joey insisted.

Charlie nodded.

"So, how long do I have to put up with not seeing you as much as I want to?" she asked.

"A few weeks or so?"

Charlie nearly choked on her sandwich.

"It'll fly by," Joey insisted, amused.

She rubbed Charlie's back soothingly.

"And just think about the time we do spend together," she said with a grin. "We can make sure that it's real quality time."

Charlie felt herself be swayed slightly. After all, if paying for a holiday was that important to Joey then really, who was she to get in the way? She turned to face her girlfriend and smiled as she leaned in closer and pressed their lips together. Joey stroked Charlie's face and tangled her hands in Charlie's hair. Her breath caught slightly as Charlie permitted her tongue entry. Joey moved to lay Charlie back on the sand, leaning over her and letting her hands wander, their lunch quickly forgotten. She trailed kisses down Charlie's jaw and throat and then towards her cleavage.

"I've missed you," Charlie breathed.

Joey traced her kisses back up to Charlie's mouth, letting her hands drift to her chest. She smiled.

"I've missed you too," she said, even though it had only been a few days since they'd spent this kind of time together. Joey kissed her again and then pulled away sighing as they both heard the wolf whistle of some adolescent teenager. Both women turned to face the group of four boys who were walking up the beach on their lunch break from school, kicking at the sand and watching Charlie and Joey's display.

"I hate teenage boys," Charlie complained.

"I'd better be getting back anyway," Joey sighed, despising the group just as much.

In order to avoid trouble, they gathered up their belongings and their discarded lunch remnants and hurried up the beach holding hands.

***

Back at the boat which looked just about ready to sail out for the afternoon, Charlie reluctantly let go of Joey's hand. Joey leant across to kiss her goodbye.

"What time should I expect you today?"

Joey pulled an awkward face and Charlie's heart sank at the thought of yet more overtime. Joey kissed her again.

"Expect me at about ten," she said.

Charlie nodded and began to walk away.

"Oh, and you'd better be prepared to finish what you started," she called.

Joey grinned and headed back to work.

***

Joey was cheerful but aware that she was running late when she pushed through the front door that evening. Charlie was in the kitchen washing dishes noisily in the sink.

"I expected you at ten," she said sourly.

It was now quarter past eleven and Joey felt immediately guilty that she hadn't even bothered to send a text. She'd just lost track of time and got into what she was doing and before she knew what was happening, she'd gone over her overtime and was running the risk of making Charlie angry. She stood behind her partner and wrapped her arms around her waist, apologising profusely and attempting to explain. She felt Charlie sigh heavily against her and stop washing dishes.

"I've just hardly seen you all week," Charlie complained.

"I know," Joey said. "It's been hard for me too. You have no idea how hard."

Charlie turned round to face her, pouting slightly.

"You can stop doing all the overtime then," she said hopefully.

Joey smiled.

"If I keep going like I am then it'll only be a couple more weeks before I can take you away," Joey said. "And then just think of all the time we'll get to spend together then. You'll be sick of the sight of me by the end of the trip!"

Charlie placed her soapy hands on Joey's face and kissed her lips. Joey hugged her tighter and smiled.

"I'm going to jump in the shower," she said.

She invited Charlie to come and keep her company.

***

Joey stood in the shower cubicle and enjoyed the rush of hot water cascading down her tired body. It was refreshing to scrub the grime of the day from her, although she could hardly bear to think about the fact that in five hours she would be heading right back to the boat. She knew Charlie was choosing not to believe it, but the truth was that Joey hated the overtime just as much as she did. Early starts, long days and late nights, all away from the woman she loved, were torture but she had to keep in mind exactly what she was doing it for.

"Oh, I might be getting a promotion at work," Charlie said, over the sound of the water from where she sat perched on a stool.

"Well done!" Joey enthused.

"So, maybe we could use the extra money for our trip?"

Joey opened the door and poked her head out.

"Nice try," she said.

Charlie felt a thrill go through her at the hint of Joey's naked body. She thought it was special that even after seeing her pretty much every day for the last four years they were still just as excited by the sight of each other as they had been when they first met. Joey ducked back into the shower and Charlie fought the urge to join her.

"Oh, Charlie, I had a favour to ask you," Joey ventured, sounding a little shy.

"What's that?"

"Well, I'm not working tomorrow night," she said. "And nor are you. And I was wondering if we could maybe take Lauren out to dinner."

Charlie let images of busty Lauren gazing at Joey's bottom invade her mind. She shuddered. She did not want to go and spend an evening with that woman at all. When she didn't respond, Joey poked her head out of the shower again and peered at her girlfriend.

"Charlie?" she asked. "Would that be okay?"

"Why?" was all Charlie managed.

"Because she's just spilt up with her girlfriend of nine years and she's really lonely," Joey said, slipping back under the water again. "Plus, she's my boss and my friend and I think it'd be nice if you two got to know each other."

"Okay. Sure."

"Great!" Joey said, not noticing the disdain in Charlie's voice.

Checking that all the shampoo was out of her hair, Joey turned off the water and opened the door. She smiled at Charlie and felt around for her towel, locating it and drying her face.

"I think it'll be a really good night," she said.

Thoughts of an evening with Lauren evaporated as Charlie's eyes fixed on Joey's glistening, wet body. Before she'd even given her a chance to dry anything but her face, Charlie had sprung up from her seat, bounded over and begun to smother her in kisses. Taken aback with delighted surprise, Joey allowed herself to be led back into the shower. Charlie pressed her back against the wall, accidentally shouldering the 'on' button and causing the water to start flowing again.

***

Charlie was trying to have a nice time but it was proving to be quite an effort. Even Joey's company and watching her laugh, relax and enjoy herself wasn't compensating for the fact that Lauren had basically been having a conversation with her cleavage for the entire night. She couldn't believe that Joey hadn't noticed the effect she seemed to be having on her boss but she genuinely seemed oblivious. Still, the little voice in Charlie's head kept telling her that Joey was pretending and that there was more to this overtime business than met the eye. And then she felt terribly guilty for being so accusatory. Then she lost the thread of the conversation and felt even more left out. She studied Lauren. The woman was undeniably beautiful. She was tall and slim with curvy hips and a generous helping of cleavage that made Charlie wonder why she had to keep staring at Joey's. If she wanted boobs, she had plenty of her own to focus on. Lauren was blonde haired and blue eyed; she had a voice so husky and sexy that it had to be false. She had a light laugh and a flawless face. Charlie nodded as Joey excused herself to go to the bathroom. She gratefully received a gentle hand-squeeze and then watched her go. Looking back at Lauren, she noticed that she was also watching Joey leave. Charlie tried to smile but she was aware that it looked more like a grimace. It felt like more of a grimace too.

"Sorry for stealing her away," Lauren said evenly.

Charlie couldn't fail to miss the loaded sentence. It was dripping with double meaning. Or maybe she was just paranoid.

"Well, I know she's got a lot of overtime to do," she said, ignoring the unspoken part of the comment.

"Yeah. I'm sure I meant her time," Lauren replied, sipping her wine.

Okay, maybe she wasn't just being paranoid after all.

"Excuse me?" Charlie challenged.

"I'm not proud of it, Charlie and I don't want to hurt anyone but Joey and I just have a connection," Lauren said.

A fake smile was plastered on her face. Charlie let her mouth hang open.

"I think you're barking up the wrong tree here, Lauren," she eventually said.

"Am I?"

"Joey would never…"

"Keep telling yourself that."

Charlie fought the urge to reach over and slap Joey's boss. How dare she sit there and make out that she and Joey were or would be having an affair? Joey would never do that to her. The whole reason she was doing all those long hours at work was because she was trying to make a romantic gesture to take Charlie away, wasn't it? It wasn't because she and Lauren were getting it on in the sunshine on deck.

"How dare you?" Charlie said, her voice low and threatening, trying to hide her panic.

"Look, Joey and I belong together," Lauren said. "She's so close to realising that and I thought you should know. That's all."

They both looked up as Joey cheerfully returned to the table.

"Did I miss anything exciting?" she asked, sitting down.

"Nothing," Charlie said firmly.

Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"Who wants dessert?" she asked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Joey felt anxious when she and Charlie arrived home. For the latter part of the meal and their journey back, Charlie had been quiet and that usually meant that something was bothering her. She followed her into the living room and watched her tumble down onto the couch.

"It was a nice evening, wasn't it?" Joey tried, hovering nearby.

"Amazing," Charlie said sarcastically. "I didn't feel like a third wheel at all."

They both closed their eyes and sighed. Joey felt utterly confused. She was certain she hadn't ignored Charlie, not once. It wasn't even possible. Whenever they were together, all Joey could think about was her. Come to think of it, even when they were apart, Charlie was always on her mind. It was bordering on embarrassing after four years. She told her so and Charlie looked up at her with a slightly warmer expression.

"Sorry," she said finally.

She knew that Joey hadn't done anything wrong and she immediately felt guilty for taking her bad mood over Lauren's behaviour out on her. If anyone was an innocent party in this, it was Joey. She probably had no idea that Lauren had designs on her and Charlie was positive that if she had done anything to encourage it, it would have only been by being her usual, friendly self. Joey came to sit beside her, still feeling a little wounded.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just… I don't…"

"You don't like Lauren," Joey concluded.

Charlie sighed.

"Do we have to go out with her again?"

"Well, I guess we don't. But I still have to see her."

"Why?" Charlie asked, alarmed.

"Um, because I have to work with her," Joey pointed out. "And because it's a nice gesture if I continue to offer to be her friend."

Charlie threw her head back against the cushions dramatically.

"She doesn't want to be your friend, Joey!" she cried exasperated.

Joey just stared at her, looking helplessly puzzled.

"She wants you," Charlie explained. "She wants you like I want you. Like I have you. Like you're mine and nobody else is allowed to touch you."

Charlie felt possessive and Joey felt confused. Lauren was flirty. She hadn't missed it but that didn't mean anything. Sometimes people were just flirty.

"Charlie, you're being ridiculous," she said, attempting to dismiss the accusation.

"No, I'm not. She spent so much time looking down your shirt tonight that she might as well have climbed inside it!"

"Now you're exaggerating."

"Not to mention the fact that she told me!"

"She told you what, exactly?"

"She apologised for stealing you."

Now it was Joey's turn to feel exasperated.

"Charlie, sweetheart, light of my life, she was talking about stealing my _time_. She knows all the overtime is pissing you off so she apologised for it," Joey explained, reaching out to hold Charlie's hand.

"She was not apologising for stealing your time," Charlie replied firmly.

"Well, what did she say exactly?"

Charlie cursed herself for not storing everything word for word because she was suddenly drawing a blank. But she knew that Lauren had an ulterior motive. She knew it.

"It was just… Just trust me, okay?"

"She's just come out of a long-term relationship," Joey said. "She's not into anyone right now – least of all me."

Joey was struggling with the concept of anyone liking her. Still, sometimes, she had to pinch herself and remember that it was really true that Charlie loved her. It seemed unrealistic to have someone she deemed the most beautiful creation in the whole universe as a partner all of her very own.

"Joey, sometimes you're too innocent for your own good," Charlie told her.

"And sometimes you're not innocent enough," Joey said.

Charlie smiled in defeat. Obviously Joey was choosing not to believe the truth. It was exactly like her to prefer to remain oblivious to something like this. She sighed and lifted Joey's hand to her lips.

"Let's not argue about it," she said.

Joey smiled, grateful that it wasn't going to turn into a drama. She didn't have long to sleep before yet another early start and she wasn't ready to part from Charlie's company in favour of a world of dreams just yet.

* * *

Work felt strangely awkward the following morning and Joey was trying to avoid her boss. She was certain that Charlie was being paranoid and inventing problems but then, what if she wasn't? She had no reason to doubt Charlie. She was a perceptive woman who was trained to spot behaviours for a living. What if Lauren had behaved inappropriately somehow, even by accident and Joey had disbelieved her for nothing? She sighed and focussed on the task in hand, trying to shake all negative or confusing thoughts out of her head. She didn't understand why people couldn't just be upfront about everything like she was. She much preferred to keep things simple. She always had. When she'd fallen in love with Charlie all those years before, she'd been immediately honest about her feelings. As soon as she'd known she loved her, she'd told her. But Charlie had run and hid from her emotions for a long time. She'd played games out of fright and worry about who she was and what loving another woman would mean for her life. And now, if Lauren did like her, she felt very strongly that her boss should just leave it alone. Joey was in a relationship, a loving committed relationship, from which she would never stray and that was that. No amount of manipulation or making Charlie jealous would ever work to get her to change that.

"Hey, are you okay?" said a voice.

Joey nearly jumped out of her skin and promptly dropped the rope she was holding. She turned to face Lauren and forced a smile.

"Yeah," she said. "Just concentrating."

Lauren smiled back broadly.

"Thanks for last night," she said. "I had a great time. It was nice to feel normal again after everything."

Joey nodded.

"Maybe the three of us could do something at the weekend?" Lauren suggested, sounding nervous.

"Oh, yeah, great," Joey replied vaguely. "It might just be me though. I think Charlie's working unsociable hours this weekend."

She picked the rope back up.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" Lauren asked.

"Of course she does," Joey replied, sounding rather too high pitched.

She coloured and silently cursed her own inability to lie.

"I think I might have made some comment that she took the wrong way," Lauren ventured.

"Really?" Joey asked, hoping it was what she thought it was.

If they could clear this up now then everything would be okay.

"I apologised for stealing you. But I meant your time. I didn't mean... anything else."

Joey nodded enthusiastically, feeling relieved.

"She wasn't sure how to take it," she said.

"I mean, you're lovely and all but I'm so not ready for... anything. And I know how much you love Charlie."

Joey smiled.

"I do," she agreed.

"So, this weekend?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

Charlie was pleased when she her phone rang and Joey's name flashed up on the screen. She was working but she happily took the call anyway, sneaking into her office for some privacy.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm pretty good. Tired. You?"

"Same!"

"Hey, I spoke to Lauren," Joey ventured.

Charlie's heart sank. She didn't want to talk about her.

"And she was really apologetic. She said she that she'd said something that you'd probably taken wrong and she's really, really sorry and can we all go out this weekend?"

Charlie shrieked a few internal words about Lauren being a manipulative cow but made sure they remained in her head. Out loud, she accepted the apology and reluctantly agreed to some weekend activity, although she had been desperately hoping for some alone-time with Joey.

"Great! I'll tell her. I'm going to be working a bit but we can still do stuff in the evening."

"Wait, you're going to be working at the weekend?" Charlie asked.

"Just a little," Joey replied.

"I think I'm going to need to carry your picture round with me in case I forget who you are," Charlie said sarcastically.

"Think of the holiday," Joey told her.

Inside, Charlie wanted to scream that she didn't care about the stupid holiday and that the stupid holiday was wrecking their relationship and pushing Joey into the arms of another woman. But she determined to be supportive. If Joey had got it into her head that she was going to pay for a trip, then Charlie wasn't going to ruin it. It obviously meant too much to her.

* * *

The weekend arrived and Charlie couldn't help but still feel a little sore at the lack of Joey's presence in her life. The moments that she was around were as wonderful as they had always been but they felt too infrequent and Charlie was desperately trying not to get irate about it. Joey had worked constantly for nine days and counting and the idea of her working so closely with Lauren was driving Charlie crazy. The thought of her eyes poring all over her girlfriend or her hands finding a way to touch her somehow, with innocent Joey being so oblivious, was torture. And it was driving her to distraction.

"You ready?" Joey called from the living room.

Charlie appeared in the doorway wearing a black dress cut off at the middle of her thigh. She smiled to herself as she watched Joey's breath catch in her throat.

"Wow. I swear you get more beautiful every day," Joey said, stepped forward to slip her arms around Charlie's waist.

She kissed her gently on the lips. Charlie stepped back to take in Joey who was wearing a new trouser suit that Charlie had made her buy, insisting that casual really didn't suit every occasion. Joey took the moment to do a twirl.

"Will I do?" she asked.

"You look amazing," Charlie smiled.

"Shall we?"

The two of them headed out to the car. They were meeting Lauren at the theatre, having booked tickets to see _Fame_ for the evening. Charlie was disappointed that it wasn't just the two of them but providing Lauren kept her eyes, hands and comments to herself, she hoped that everything would be okay.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Joey enthused, skipping ahead and performing some kind of unfathomable dance routine reticent of what they had just seen on stage. Charlie chuckled and then frowned when she spotted the same kind of amused affection on Lauren's face. It was not her place to find Joey cute.

"Do you guys want to go for a drink or something?" Lauren asked.

Joey wandered back to them and linked her arm with Charlie's. The evening had gone well so far. There didn't seem to have been any tension between Charlie and Lauren, which could only be a good thing. Joey had tried to be more self-aware throughout the evening, like she had all week about any kind of signals Lauren might be sending her and yet again, she could detect nothing so she was comforted by the fact that it was all some strange misunderstanding.

"Sounds good to me. Charlie?"

Charlie nodded. As much as she wanted to just take Joey home, she told herself sternly not to be selfish and to keep the evening going a little longer.

* * *

Settled at the table in a nearby pub, Charlie was pleased to note that Joey immediately settled into her side of the booth without even considering sitting beside Lauren and was now tucked under her arm.

"So, how did you two get together then?" Lauren asked.

Joey looked up at Charlie and grinned.

"Well, we met," she said. "We fell in love. I spent a lot of time pursuing her while she freaked out and didn't want to accept that she wanted to be with me and finally, I wore her down and we've been together ever since!"  
Charlie laughed.

"Okay, it didn't happen quite like that!" she protested.

"You really needed time to decide to be with Joey?" Lauren asked, surprised. "What was there to decide? She's lovely."

"Aw, thank you," Joey grinned, sipping her drink.

Charlie tried not to derive any extra meaning from the comment.

"I identified as straight before I met Joey," she said. "Hence, confusion."

"I bet you could turn most people," Lauren said to Joey, who blushed.

"Hardly! Anyway, nobody exists in my head except for Charlie."

She leant up and planted a small kiss on Charlie's lips. Lauren made a retching noise but smiled to show she was joking.

"And you guys have been together how long?"

"Four years," Charlie said, hugging Joey a little closer.

"Wow. And no lesbian bed death yet?"

Charlie looked confused and Joey laughed.

"Personal, much? No!"

At Charlie's bewildered expression, Joey whispered and explanation of the phrase meaning that apparently lesbians got to a stage where all they did in bed was have conversation. Charlie blushed and shook her head, sipping her drink and wishing that it was stronger than lemonade.

"Do you really think I could allow that to happen when I have a girlfriend as hot as Charlie?" Joey asked.

"Maybe we should talk about something other than our sex life?" Charlie suggested.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Joey woke reluctantly and was instantly aware that her body was aching. Her shoulder protested as she moved her arm to hit the alarm clock a shade too aggressively. She noted it falling to the floor and was grateful that it had at least stopped beeping on its way. Sighing, she carefully attempted to slip out from under the duvet and from the tangle that hers and Charlie's legs had wound up in. Before she managed to lift her head from the pillow, however, she felt Charlie's arm pin her down.

"Don't even think about it," Charlie growled, without opening her eyes.

Her voice was thick with sleep but a smile played on her lips. Joey grinned and settled back against the pillow again.

"I do have to go to work," Joey pointed out gently, although she had no real desire to climb out from beneath the warm blankets, especially as she hadn't even managed to put on her pyjamas the night before.

Perplexed by the concept of Lesbian Bed Death, Charlie had insisted that they ensure right then and there that it never happened to them.

"It's Sunday," Charlie pointed out, still refusing to open her eyes but keeping her grip on Joey just as strong.

"Overtime," Joey said.

Finally Charlie blinked. She raised herself slightly and looked Joey directly in the face. Joey couldn't quite resist the temptation to peer at the gap between Charlie's body and the mattress to figure out if she could see anything that might wake her up a bit. Charlie noticed and smiled, amused that even though they had been officially together for years, Joey could still behave like she had a school girl crush.

"You are not going to work," Charlie said firmly, refusing to move her arm to let Joey free.

"Fine," Joey agreed, snuggling back down and reaching round to pull Charlie closer towards her.

Charlie relaxed in her embrace and shut her eyes again.

"Besides," she added. "There is no way you're leaving me to have breakfast with the girls by myself after what we did on the kitchen table last night."

Joey giggled and kissed the top of Charlie's head. Overtime was definitely a lousy idea. Spending the day with the woman she loved was far more attractive.

* * *

Later that morning Charlie, Joey and Leah were eating breakfast together. Charlie was trying not to blush at the memories of the night before and Joey's winks and grins were not helping the situation. Suddenly Ruby burst through the door.

"There is _underwear_ on the ground outside next to the house! A thong! This is..." she ranted.

Charlie chewed her lip and flushed crimson.

"Oh, gross! You guys!" Ruby complained.

Leah shook her head. Charlie looked like she wanted the world to swallow her and Joey couldn't stop giggling into her toast.

"Sorry. I was going to go and find it later," Charlie apologised.

"I dread to think what you two get up to that we don't know about. And where!"

Charlie choked on her coffee. Joey laughed harder.

"I don't want to know," Ruby said.

* * *

The next day, Joey was up, bright and early to work and had been slaving away for hours. Now she was enjoying lunch at the Diner. She allowed herself to get lost in a daydream and then she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, hoping to see Charlie, she instead saw Lauren smiling at her.

"I just wanted to thank you for a great evening on Saturday," Lauren said warmly, sitting down opposite her employee. "You and Charlie both."

"Oh, no problem," Joey said. "It was fun!"

"I hope you don't think I'm pathetic or anything, needing friends. It's just, Maria and I had shared friends so it's hard to spend time with them right now without looking like I'm trying to get them to take sides."

"Oh, no, really, it's nice to hang out. I'm all for making new friends," Joey replied, smiling.

"Well, I really am grateful anyway," Lauren said, reaching out to touch Joey's hand.

Joey looked down at the contact for a moment and pulled away when it felt like Lauren was holding on for slightly too long. She stood up, her meal finished, attempting to signal that the conversation was over.

* * *

Charlie stopped smiling when she spotted Joey sitting at a table, quite obviously holding hands with Lauren. She felt her blood turn cold. She'd come for something to eat but having watched the interaction, she wasn't sure she was hungry anymore. She chewed her lip, a little glad that Joey had pulled away but still, she shouldn't have let her touch her in the first place. And their conversation had seemed so intimate. She fought against the voice in her head that was screaming the word 'affair'. There was no way that Joey would do that to her. No way. Was there? She couldn't help but fear that all the time Joey was spending away, wasn't as innocent as she was being led to believe. And even if Joey wasn't doing anything about it, it was almost worse to think that there was an 'it' to do something about. What if Joey had feelings for Lauren? Taking a breath, she headed back out the Diner, her mind an abyss of confusion.

* * *

"Hey," Joey called when she spotted Charlie sitting in the kitchen, nursing a coffee.

Charlie didn't even look up. She just continued stirring her cup despondently. Frowning, Joey pulled up a chair to sit beside her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Do you care?" Charlie snapped, still not looking at her.

Confused, Joey just stared and noticed tears dripping onto the table. She reached out to touch Charlie's arm but Charlie pulled away.

"Charlie, what's wrong?"

Joey checked the time. She hadn't done any more overtime than planned. She was home right on time. Her question was met with silence and a distinct lack of eye contact. Charlie's face was hidden by her hair and she didn't show any signs of surfacing.

"Charlie?" Joey urged.

Charlie finally snapped her head up and glared at Joey.

"I saw you today," she said.

"Saw me...?"

"With Lauren."

Joey continued to draw a blank. Charlie looked at her incredulously.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" Charlie demanded.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," Joey admitted. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"You're having an affair and you don't know what to say?" Charlie yelled, standing up and spilling her coffee.

Joey jumped back and righted the cup.

"An affair? What? Charlie, can we just rewind to yesterday when everything felt so perfect?" Joey asked.

"What, so you can redo today and make sure I don't catch you?" Charlie asked, turning away.

"Catch me at what? I'm not doing anything!" Joey replied desperately.

She watched Charlie's shoulders tremble slightly and her hand flew to her face, presumably to wipe her eyes. Joey immediately rushed over and put her hands on Charlie's shoulders. She attempted to turn her round and forced her to make eye contact.

"How could you think I'd cheat on you?" she asked.

"You were holding her hand," Charlie said.

"She _touched _my hand," Joey replied, remembering. "That's it. She was emotional because she was talking about not having any friends left because of the break up. That's all, Charlie."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Joey broke away and began mopping up the coffee. She felt wounded that Charlie could ever have suspected her of a betrayal like that. As if she would ever go behind Charlie's back. As if she would hurt her like that. As if it was even possible for her to so much as look at another woman.

"Joey," Charlie pleaded.

"How could you even accuse me of that, Charlie?" Joey asked, turning back around.

Charlie hated the look of hurt in her girlfriend's eyes and felt a sudden rush of guilt and regret at how badly she had handled things. All she had needed to do was talk to her, or to just forget about it and actually trust her.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly.

Joey fought tears.

"I would never do something like that to you," Joey said. "There isn't even a hint of anything between Lauren and I. How could there be? I've not so much as thought about anyone other than you since the first moment we met. All there is, is you, Charlie. You're all there's ever been. I can't believe you'd accuse me like this. I mean..."

Joey shook her head. Charlie reached out to her but found she was tense in her arms and unwilling to be comforted.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said again. "I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I don't know where my head's at. I just can't get the idea of some busty blonde taking you away, out of my head."

"Well get rid of it, Charlie. I'm not going to stand around and be yelled at for cheating when the idea never even entered my head."

"It's just with all this overtime..."

"I'm doing it for you!" Joey snapped. "If I'd have known that taking you on holiday was going to cause this much suspicion and under-appreciation, quite frankly I wouldn't have bothered."

Joey broke out of Charlie's grip and left the room, yelling behind her that she was going to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Joey was in foul mood the following day at work. Charlie had spent the rest of the previous night trying to apologise but Joey had been too hurt to hear it. It was the first time since they'd got together, that they hadn't fallen asleep in each other's arms. Joey had slipped away in the morning without saying goodbye or waiting for Charlie's confused little murmur.

"Are you okay?" Lauren asked.

Joey was always in a good mood, regardless of the time of day but she'd been sullen all morning. Joey nodded and shrugged and concentrated on what she was doing.

"Joey?" Lauren urged.

"I'm fine," Joey replied.

She did not want to talk about the ridiculous argument she and Charlie had had. Lauren frowned and let her be.

"You've got company," Lauren said.

Joey looked up and saw Charlie approaching, holding a bouquet of flowers. She sighed and smiled simultaneously. Charlie hovered awkwardly. Joey climbed down to meet her; aware that Lauren and all the other crew members were now watching them.

"Please forgive me," Charlie said.

"I do. I shouldn't have ignored you last night... I just... How could you accuse me of cheating on you?" Joey said, feeling bad for ramming home to point so frequently.

"Because I'm an idiot," Charlie told her, offering the flowers.

Joey accepted them and smiled.

"I'll change," Charlie promised.

"Don't change," Joey told her. "You _are_ an idiot but you're my idiot. And I love you."

Charlie felt like life had finally rushed into her again after a night of absence. She reached out to embrace Joey and held her a little too tightly.

"I love you too," she said. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to keep apologising. It's done now," Joey said.

Charlie smiled and squeezed Joey's hand gently, finally releasing her body.

"I'd better let you get back to work," Charlie said, not really wanting to.

"Meet me for lunch at the Diner?" Joey suggested.

Charlie nodded and kissed Joey before letting her and her flowers get back on board.

* * *

"So, what was all that about?" Lauren asked when Joey finally settled to take a much needed tea break. She was quite obviously referring to Charlie's flowers, which were now sitting in a bucket of water on deck so they didn't dry out.

"Oh, we just had a falling out," Joey replied vaguely.

She didn't feel particularly comfortable talking about it with Lauren, considering it had been her hands that had provoked the argument in the first place.

"I didn't have you two pegged as capable of arguing," Lauren commented, sitting beside her.

Joey half laughed.

"You have no idea," she replied.

She thought back to how difficult it had been to get together in the first place. So frightened of her feelings and what the town would think of her, Charlie had rejected Joey time and again. She'd pulled her in so many different directions at first. She'd kissed her and then run away. Then she'd come back and told her nothing could happen between them. And then finally, when she'd realised that Joey was all set to leave town, she'd given in and accepted that they loved each other. She'd taken a huge risk and received a lot of abuse, particularly from Joey's brother, but they'd got through it together. Now, the idea of them as a couple was just as normal as anyone else's relationship. It had taken a little while but eventually, they could mostly walk down the street hand in hand, without stares or comments and people seemed to accept them for who they were.

"Keeps the passion alive, I guess," Lauren said. "My ex and I didn't even have that!"

Joey smiled sadly, feeling bad that Lauren was lonely and didn't have someone beautiful to love like she did. Lauren smiled back.

"So, did you steal all the covers or something?" Lauren probed.

Joey chuckled.

"No, she just got it into her head that..."

"What?" Lauren asked when Joey trailed off.

Joey sighed heavily.

"She accused me of having an affair. I mean, as if!"

Lauren raised her eyebrows.

"Why would she do that?" she asked.

"I have no earthly idea."

"You're not, are you?"

Joey looked aghast and opened her mouth to snap. Lauren put up defensive hands.

"I'm teasing," she said.

Joey shut her mouth and frowned.

"I'm not ready to be teased yet."

Lauren allowed her mind to play with the images Joey's sentence had provoked for a moment and then returned from the gutter and back to the conversation.

"I don't even know where it came from."

"Hey, you don't think it was her own guilty conscience talking, do you?"

Joey looked startled.

"Sorry. No teasing."

"No. No teasing," Joey confirmed.

"Look, cut her some slack. If I had a girlfriend as beautiful as you, I think I'd probably be keeping tabs as well," Lauren said.

Joey blushed and shifted in her seat.

"She's very lucky to have you. I hope she knows it," Lauren added, walking away.

* * *

Charlie and Joey were seated at a table in the Diner, focussing far more on each other than their food but trying very hard not to flaunt excessive displays of affection. With the argument resolved, it had been forgotten about.

"Ooh, look," Joey said, finally looking up from where she had been absently playing with Charlie's hand but without withdrawing her touch.

"More gays in the village!"

Charlie looked up and spied a group of women.

"How do you know?"

Joey raised her eyebrows. If ever there was a stereotypical group, this was it.

"They might just be alternative," Charlie said.

They watched two of the women share a brief kiss.

"Or they might not be."

* * *

That evening, Joey and Charlie strolled across the beach hand in hand, smiling into the darkness.

"So, am I forgiven for being crazy and irrational in love?" Charlie asked, swinging round in front of Joey and slipping her hands onto her hips. Joey smiled and drew Charlie in closer.

"Almost," she grinned.

"Only almost?" Charlie asked, pouting.

"Well, you know what the best part of an argument is, don't you?"

She buried herself in Charlie's neck, placing delicate kisses across the throat and letting her hands trace patterns up and down Charlie's spine. Charlie felt her body tingle and she smiled. She moaned quietly as she felt Joey's hands begin to wander. She lifted Joey's chin and kissed her lips, allowing the contact to become deeper. There was no way on earth that she and Joey would ever let anyone get in the way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

One week later, things felt marginally better, although Charlie still couldn't find it in her heart to be supportive of Joey's excessive absences. She was out early and back late and with Charlie's shift patterns, it felt like they hardly saw each other at all. Joey continued to promise that it wouldn't be long and that she had almost saved up the amount of cash they'd need for their trip but too often it provided little comfort. She was grateful to have stopped feeling so paranoid at least. Joey's hurt over her accusation had been enough to prove her innocence and really, Charlie didn't think Joey was capable of being sneaky and underhand. She was too honest. While the distinct lack of spending time together was a lonely experience, she certainly couldn't accuse Joey of lack of attentiveness when she was around. And she had finally got into the habit of punctuality, which could only be a good thing.

* * *

Walking along the beach on a sunny afternoon, Charlie smiled to herself, picturing the lovely holiday that she Joey would eventually have together. They had been for weekends away in the past and Charlie had taken Joey abroad for a week once before but Joey seemed to have a longer trip in mind. Remembering how pleased she had felt at being able to treat Joey, she could understand her girlfriend's insistence that she needed to pay for and arrange this one herself. In a daydream about how much fun she and Joey were going to have, she barely had time to avoid the woman walking directly into her path. Both apologised sincerely. Charlie tried not to frown when she realised the woman was Lauren.

"Oh, hi, Charlie," Lauren said.

"Hi," Charlie replied.

She may not have been feeling suspicious of Joey anymore but she knew that Lauren still had her in her sights. All she could do was hope that she didn't decide to do anything about it and that Joey would knock her back. Preferably so far back that she fell over the side of the boat.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks," Charlie replied, attempting to sound natural. "And you?"

"Good. I'm just taking a break from work. I've left Joey in charge."

Charlie nodded.

"She's a good little worker," Lauren continued.

"Yeah, she's very enthusiastic about what she does," Charlie agreed.

"And she is lovely," Lauren added.

Charlie gritted her teeth. She did not want to hear some woman swooning all over her girlfriend.

"I'm sorry for making you paranoid, by the way," Lauren said.

"Paranoid?"

"I presume I'm the person you thought Joey was sleeping with."

Charlie blanched. She couldn't believe that Joey had told her about it. She opened her mouth a couple of times to speak but nothing came out.

"Don't worry. I'm not. I will be soon but not just now."

Lauren turned and walked away. Charlie just stared after her. She couldn't quite believe that someone would be so bold as to say something like that. And the comment ignited her panic. While she knew that Joey was faithful, she also knew that she was vulnerable. Joey was innocent, easily manipulated and prone to falling into situations quite by accident. And what if she wound up in some compromising position with Lauren and suddenly realised that she liked it? Charlie shook her head, unable to bear the idea of Joey being stolen away from her. She determined to do something about it but had no idea what.

* * *

Joey was disappointed when her greeting hug was only returned half heartedly. She watched Charlie try to smile and be cheerful.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked worriedly.

Charlie nodded and said she was fine.

"Well that was convincing!" Joey replied, sitting down on the bed beside her.

Charlie sighed and reached out to hold Joey's hand. She played with her fingers, giving Joey shivers. _At least she's not mad at me_, she thought.

"What is it?" she probed.

Charlie surprised both of them by bursting into tears.

"I hate your job!" she said.

Joey tensed and frowned. She suddenly felt very heavy hearted as she connected the dots and knew Charlie was feeling insecure about Lauren again. It was becoming a very tiring business.

"Charlie…" she started in exasperation.

She pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said, wiping her tears away.

"What am I meant to say?" Joey asked. "I'm not going to quit."

"But that woman…"

"Isn't a threat," Joey insisted.

"She wants you, Joey."

"Whether she does or doesn't is irrelevant. She's not going to get me."

"I know. I trust you… I just…"

"Do you?" Joey demanded. "Because it really doesn't sound like it."

"She makes my skin crawl!" Charlie burst out. "She's so determined that you and her are going to end up together, Joey!"

"How do you even know that?"

"Because she said so!"

"When?"

"Today on the beach," Charlie said.

She was disappointed by Joey's lack of concern and hated herself for kicking up a fuss. She knew how much Joey loved her job but all she could think about was how to get her to give it up.

"Look, she has a strange sense of humour, okay?" Joey said reasonably. "Whatever she said… you probably just misunderstood."

"I didn't misunderstand, Joey."

Joey sighed and put her head in her hands. Looking up again, she met Charlie's gaze.

"What do you want me to do? Resign?" she asked.

She took Charlie's awkward silence as confirmation.

"That's not fair, Charlie. It's not fair to ask me to do that."

"I know!" Charlie replied desperately, but rational or not, she couldn't handle Joey and Lauren spending so much time together.

"But you're still demanding it."

"Do you know how hard it is for me knowing that you're spending more time with her than you are with me? Knowing how she feels about you and that she'd do pretty much anything to have you?"

Joey stood up.

"I'll quit mine if you quit yours," she said.

"What?" Charlie said, utterly confused.

"I don't like you working with Angelo," Joey snapped, even though she didn't mean it.

"What the hell has Angelo got to do with this?"

Charlie felt completely lost.

"He obviously still likes you," Joey shrugged.

"That's not the same!"

"No, it's worse because you actually slept with him!"

"That was a lifetime ago, Joey."

"So?"

"It's… it's not the same," Charlie faltered.

Joey sat back down.

"It is. Both requests are entirely unreasonable," she said more calmly.

She reached out for Charlie's hand.

"Charlie, please don't make me do this," she pleaded. "I love you and I will do anything for you but please, don't ask this. I know I'm not a career girl, like you. I might not have all the education, or the hot little uniform, or the prominence that you have but I love my job. It means the world to me. You know that. And you know how hard it was for me to find it and learn to be happy there after everything that happened before. I need you to stop freaking out about Lauren. I need you to trust me, Charlie. Please don't ask me to walk out on a job that I love. Please?"

Charlie chewed her lip. Joey had been as passionate and convincing as she could be but it still didn't feel like enough. She felt terrible about making such demands on the person that she loved so much but she knew that the situation wouldn't resolve itself any other way. For as long as Lauren was in Joey's life, Charlie would be constantly concerned and it was too much for her; it was too much for both of them.

"I can't bear you working with her," she said quietly, on the verge of tears again.

She frowned when Joey dropped her hand without any grace.

"I can't keep having these fights with you, Charlie," Joey said.

She stood and left the room, slamming the door behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Frustrated, Joey had gone back to work to distract herself and put in enough physical labour to work out her aggression. She couldn't believe that Charlie was asking her to resign from a job that she loved. She was so selfish! And the fact that she didn't trust her, cut like a knife. Charlie might be insisting that it was only Lauren that she didn't trust but it didn't feel that way. Maybe the only solution was to quit. It didn't look like Charlie's paranoia was going away any time soon. But Joey didn't want to leave. She wanted to be able to get up and go to work and come home happily. It felt ironic that her romantic gesture, the thing that had prompted the overtime, was what was destroying them.

***

At home, Charlie was fretful. Joey had stormed out and she didn't know where she'd gone. She wasn't taking Charlie's calls.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ruby asked, wandering into the living room and noticing Charlie's tension.

"I had an argument with Joey," Charlie admitted miserable.

Ruby looked shocked.

"But you guys never fight," she said. "You're happy to the point of irritation!"

Charlie sank down on the couch and her sister came to join her.

"What was it about?" she asked.

"There's this woman," Charlie began. "Her boss. She's really into Joey."

"Into Joey like…?"

"Like I'm into Joey. So I kind of…"

"What?"

Charlie looked at Ruby directly.

"I asked Joey to quit her job."

She frowned. Saying it out loud to a third party made it feel all the more unreasonable.

"You what?" Ruby said, alarmed.

"I can't bear for them to be around each other!" Charlie tried to explain.

"But Joey loves her job," Ruby pointed out. "And she'd never cheat on you. I mean, come on, she doesn't notice any other woman is alive. She's all about you, Charles. There's no room for anyone else. You know that, don't you?"

"I know," Charlie sighed. "It's just…"

"Look, you and Joey are the strongest couple I've ever known. Don't let some stupid, horny woman get in the way."

***

"Hey! What are you doing out here so late?"

Joey looked up to see Lauren climbing on deck. She'd stopped working already, now that it was midnight, and had spent the last few months looking out across the water. She smiled and shrugged.

"I just felt like getting some air," she said. "And being here makes me feel sane."

Lauren sat down and waved a bottle of wine at Joey who came to join her.

"I'm pretty much here for the same reason," she said.

Joey nodded and watched Lauren open the wine.

"So, what did she do this time?" the blonde asked.

Joey shook her head.

"It's nothing."

"You're sitting on my boat at midnight, looking miserable and it's nothing?" Lauren challenged.

Joey sighed heavily.

"She doesn't want me working here anymore."

"What? You're not quitting, are you?" Lauren replied, alarmed.

"No. I've said no but… she's really hurting. I don't think I reacted very well," Joey admitted.

Thinking about it now, yelling and walking out was possibly not the brightest move she had ever made.

"Maybe I should go and talk to her."

Joey got to her feet but Lauren held her arm.

"I've just poured you a glass of wine," Lauren told her. "It's only polite to drink it."

Joey grinned and accepted the glass being offered to her. She took too long a sip and sat back in her chair. Lauren smiled.

"So, what's her problem? Other than her being ridiculously controlling?" she asked.

"Charlie isn't controlling," Joey said defensively.

"She wants to dictate who you see and where you work. Nope, not controlling at all."

"No. Lauren, she's just looking out for me in a strange, upsetting way. She's freaking out abut losing me for some stupid reason."

"How do you think people end up in abusive relationships, Joey?"

"Abusive? No! You don't know what you're talking about," Joey protested.

"Sure I do," Lauren replied.

Joey shook her head.

"Sorry if I'm being too bold, Joey. But it just seems that she tells you to jump and you ask how high. Your whole world revolves around Charlie to the point where it might be unhealthy. And if she's bossing you around with this kind of thing… well, I worry about what's going to happen next."

"You've really got it all wrong," Joey said, hating that Charlie was being misrepresented. That wasn't how it was.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Lauren said, offering a smile. "I just worry about you. I care about you, Joey."

***

Charlie had paced so much that she was making both herself and Ruby dizzy. Time was getting on and Joey was still out and still ignoring her calls.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Ruby snapped. "Just go and find her and put us all out of our misery!"

Charlie stopped pacing and frowned at her sister, feeling startled.

"I don't know where she is," Charlie pointed out.

"Charlie, this is Joey we're talking about. You don't have to be a genius to figure out where she is."

Charlie sighed, nodded and grabbed her coat.

***

Joey smiled, feeling a little anxious under Lauren's intense stare. She shifted, looked away and finished off the last of her wine in a gulp that made her throat sting. Lauren took the glass out of Joey's hand and put her own down beside it. She took Joey's hands in her own and lifted Joey's chin to convince her to look at her. Panic surged within Joey. It felt terribly wrong to be sitting like this with someone who wasn't Charlie. She felt frozen in place.

"You really do mean so much to me," Lauren said softly. "I never thought I'd ever feel this way again."

"Lauren…" Joey said but before she could get her next words out, Lauren's lips were pressed against her own.

***

Charlie didn't stop to watch. Even from a distance, it was clear that Joey and Lauren were in an intimate situation. She felt like the bottom had just fallen out of her world as she ran hurriedly away. All this time, and after all Joey's protestations, it was true. Joey, who had promised time and again that nothing would make her stray, was now making out with that evil woman. Charlie didn't bother to fight tears as she carried on walking, not knowing where she was headed.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you all so much for your feedback and I apologise for how much I'm putting our girls through! But have a little faith...!_

**Chapter Eight**

"What do you think you're doing?" Joey shrieked, pushing away from Lauren in horror.

"I thought that's what you wanted," Lauren protested, catching hold of Joey's hand.

"No. What I want is to be with Charlie," Joey insisted, pulling away. "That's all I've ever wanted."

"I'm sorry," Lauren said weakly.

Joey got to her feet, stress threatening to overwhelm her.

"I'm going for a walk," she said.

"I really am sorry, Joey. We just got our wires crossed," Lauren apologised.

"Yeah… just… don't worry about it. I'll be back later."

Joey hurried away.

***

Charlie sat on the beach alone, running through the images of Joey and Lauren in her head. She felt sick. She wasn't a stranger to being treated badly in relationships. She'd been cheated on more than once. Then there was the whole Roman disaster. He'd held her at arms length and never made her feel as cared about as she wanted. But Joey had changed all of that. Charlie had never felt so loved in all her life. Up until all this overtime business, she had believed they were perfect. Their relationship had been passionate, loving and caring. They had always communicated, always been able to make each other laugh, they challenged each other intellectually and they loved each other deeply. Or so she had thought. She couldn't help but wonder what had made Joey betray her like this. Was there something lacking in their relationship that Charlie hadn't noticed? Or was Lauren just more special than she was? Part of her wanted to charge back over to the boat and have it out with both of them but part of her hung onto the hope that perhaps it had been a trick of the light, that she was mistaken somehow. Standing up, she decided to go back to the boat. She was determined not to yell. All she wanted was to speak rationally to Joey. Even if she had kissed her, Charlie wasn't sure that she could walk away from her. The idea of Joey wanting someone else hurt beyond the telling of it but losing her would be worse. Nodding to herself, she swore that they could work through it. She'd do anything to make Joey love her again.

***

Joey was walking across the sand in a world of her own. Lauren's lips had touched hers for less than a second, but did that mean she had cheated? She couldn't bear the thought of being unfaithful to Charlie. The only person in the world she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life was her. And she cursed herself for not seeing it coming. Charlie had been telling her about Lauren's intentions all along but Joey had been determined to remain oblivious. She felt terrible that she hadn't protected Charlie's feelings in all of this. All she could picture was how she would feel if she was in Charlie's position. Guilt kicked in. She reached into her pocket for her phone, intent on apologising, and cursed loudly when she realised she'd left it on the boat.

***

Charlie jumped on board and found Lauren sitting alone. She noted the bottle of wine and thought how cosy the set-up had been.

"Where's Joey?" she demanded.

Lauren didn't look too surprised to see her. She smiled.

"She's gone for a walk. Would you like some wine?"

"No, wouldn't like some wine. I want to see my girlfriend," Charlie snapped.

Lauren stood up.

"I don't think she's your girlfriend anymore, Charlie."

"Until she tells me that, I'll reserve judgement," Charlie replied fiercely.

"Would the knowledge that she and I just kissed confirm it?" Lauren asked, smiling triumphantly.

Charlie clenched her jaw. Images swarmed her mind. She swallowed back the lump aching in her throat. Lauren stepped closer, cocky and confident.

"If you just kissed, why isn't she here?" Charlie challenged.

"She needed some air. Breaking up with you isn't going to be easy for her. But I'll help her get over it."

"Joey isn't going to leave me," Charlie said, hoping that uttering the words aloud would make them come true.

"She has the most amazing lips, doesn't she?" Lauren said. "So soft and gentle and yet so passionate. It was amazing."

Charlie clenched her fists tightly as Lauren wandered away. Joey's boss turned back and grinned.

"She really is incredible. I can't wait to go below deck."

***

Joey felt a wave of panic hit her as she approached the boat in time to witness Charlie launching herself at Lauren. She broke into a run just as Charlie's fist connected with Lauren's face.

"Charlie! What the hell are you doing?" Joey yelled, reaching them.

She pulled the brunette away from the blonde and glared at her. Charlie looked stricken.

"Well?" Joey demanded angrily.

Hurting or not, assaulting her boss was definitely the wrong thing to do. Charlie faltered, not quite sure what to say. Both women glanced at Lauren who was pinching a bloody nose.

"What were you thinking?" Joey yelled.

"You didn't hear what she said to me!" Charlie finally burst out.

"I don't care what she said to you," Joey replied sternly. "You just punched my boss in the face. How could you?"

"Joey…"

"I don't want to hear it," Joey snapped, nudging Charlie towards the side of the boat.

Charlie reluctantly allowed herself to be led. She felt wounded when Joey told her to leave. Numbly, she climbed back onto the wharf and watched Joey hurry over to Lauren to help clean up the mess.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Joey mopped up the small stream of blood flowing from Lauren's nose. She apologised a few times but Lauren was dismissive, insisting that it wasn't her fault. Finally, Lauren looked up at her.

"And you still think she doesn't have problems?" she asked.

"What did you say to her?" Joey demanded.

"I didn't say anything," Lauren lied.

"Then why did she go for you?"

"Because she's crazy?"

"She's not crazy. This isn't like her," Joey insisted.

She grabbed her stuff and left the boat.

Emotional, Charlie ended up at the Surf Club and ordered two beers in one go. Downing half of the first one, she sat back and closed her eyes. If Joey's anger at her and protection of Lauren had confirmed anything, it was that there was more to that kiss than Charlie had hoped. She felt like an idiot for trusting her and buying into her lies. Swigging from her bottle, she wondered exactly what was going on between them and how long it had been going on for. How could Joey have lied to her? How cruel was she that she'd make up some story about taking her away on a trip just to cover all the overtime she'd been getting up to with Lauren? It didn't make sense. Sighing heavily, she looked around the Surf Club, hoping to spot someone she knew. Nobody was around except for the 'avalanche of lesbians' as Joey had labelled them. Suddenly she realised that one of them had caught her eye and smiled at her. A little surprised, she smiled back, not realising that she had accidentally signalled for her to come over.

Joey rushed back home, only to find that Charlie wasn't there and the rest of the house had already turned in. Frustrated, she tried to wrack her brains about where she might have got to. Joey already felt terrible that she had shouted at Charlie. She'd just been so stunned to see her lose her temper like that. And violence terrified her. She turned when she heard movement. Ruby stood sleepily in the doorway to the living room.

"Did you make up with Charlie?" the younger girl asked.

"No, I made things worse," Joey sighed.

Ruby groaned.

"Can't you guys just kiss and make up?" she asked. "I swear I won't complain if I find random items of underwear lying around."

"I wish."

She glanced at her watch and frowned. Where was Charlie? She decided to try and find her.

The dark haired girl sitting beside Charlie was entertaining and attractive. Her hair was short and spiky and she had an eyebrow piercing that was strangely endearing.

"So, what are you doing here all alone?" the girl, Karen, asked.

"Honestly?"

Karen nodded.

"I just had a bust up with my girlfriend," Charlie admitted.

"Oh dear."

Karen moved her arm so that it was resting on the back of the couch, carefully behind Charlie's head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"I think she's cheating on me," Charlie blurted out, wondering why she was talking about this to a perfect stranger.

"Is she insane?" Karen said.

Charlie laughed.

"I mean… to cheat on someone as beautiful as you? She must have problems."

"I wish I could stop thinking about it," Charlie said, swallowing the rest of her second beer.

"Well, I could always try and take your mind off it," Karen whispered.

She leaned in close so their mouths were almost touching. Charlie closed her eyes. It would be so easy to go for it, to lose herself in a stranger whose attention was solely on her. But just as she felt Karen get too close, she opened her eyes and pulled back.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't."

Karen sighed and nodded. She stood up.

"Well, if you change your mind, come and find me," she said.

After an hour of walking around in the dark and becoming more fretful, Joey gave up and returned home. She headed straight to the bedroom, preparing for a sleepless night when she stopped and realised that Charlie was sitting on the bed in tears. Joey's love overrode every other feeling she had. She rushed straight over.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," she said.

"Including Lauren's mouth?" Charlie shot back, although she didn't have the energy for much venom.

Joey blanched.

"What… what do you mean?" she asked tightly.

"I saw you kissing her! And then… then I was perfectly within my rights to confront her and took her side over mine!"

"You punched her in the face!" Joey pointed out. "You realise she could press charges for assault for that? You could lose your job."

"She deserved it."

"Nobody deserves violence," Joey said stubbornly.

"You kissed her."

"I didn't."

"Don't lie to me, Joey! I saw you!"

Joey hung her head, trying to grapple with all the jumbled thoughts whirling around in her brain.

"It wasn't like that," she said.

"How the hell else could it have been?" Charlie wanted to know. "I've been driving myself crazy all these weeks. I've believed in you. I've tried to tell myself over and over again that you'd never do that to me and this whole time… this whole time you…"

Charlie rubbed her face, unable to continue.

"She tried to kiss me," Joey said. "And I wouldn't let her."

"That's not how it looked to me," Charlie said.

"It's how it was, I swear."

"So your lips never touched?"

Joey looked away and then back again.

"I thought so," Charlie accused.

"It was a fraction of a second, I swear. I'm sorry. I didn't see it coming. She came at me so fast and I couldn't stop her," Joey said desperately.

The aching lump was back in her throat.

"I don't believe you," Charlie admitted. "I want to but… between that and all the things she said to me, not to mention how you took her side over mine."

Joey let her tears fall, wondering how on earth she'd got into this mess. She reached for Charlie's hands. Both women were trembling.

"I'm telling you the truth, Charlie. I wouldn't lie to you. I've never lied to you! Please?"

"Will you quit your job?" Charlie asked.

Joey sighed.

"If that's what it takes," she said after some extended silence.

"I almost kissed someone tonight too."

Joey looked up quickly. Charlie wondered why on earth she'd opened her mouth.

"What?" Joey said meekly.

"I got hit on by some girl."

She wanted Joey to know how she'd felt; how painful it was when the person you love, strayed.

"And you went for it?" Joey asked, breaking contact.

"Almost."

"Why?"

"Because I thought you'd…"

"So you thought you'd pay me back?"

"As far as I knew you'd been sleeping with Lauren behind my back for weeks!" Charlie protested.

"Well, I wasn't! And you should have known that. You should have trusted me and talked to me about it. But no, you don't do that, do you? You kiss other women and assault my boss instead."

"I didn't kiss her," Charlie said urgently, when she realised that Joey was walking out on her again.

Joey turned back looking devastated.

"I couldn't do it," she said. "I love you too much."

"Too little, too late," Joey replied.

Then she left.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you again to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. Finally we draw to a close..._

**Chapter Ten**

Charlie called in sick to work. She was sufficiently stressed that it felt valid. The hours had passed far too slowly and she hadn't slept a wink. Joey had never come home, leaving Charlie fretful about what she'd been doing and where she'd gone. All she could think about was Joey returning to Lauren's arms.

***

"Hey," Lauren said awkwardly when Joey approached.

Joey was tired, uncomfortable and agitated. She didn't bother to smile.

"Look about last night," Lauren began.

"Last night, you pretty much wrecked my life," Joey said bitterly.

"I… Did you and Charlie…?"

"I think we're pretty much over."

Joey could barely choke out the words.

"Well, you were always too good for her anyway," Lauren said, stepping forward.

She reached out her hands to Joey, who stepped back.

"You have no idea what I've lost."

"Well, you could always gain something out of it. I mean, you and I do have a connection, Joey. You can't deny that. Maybe we could…"

"We don't have a connection, Lauren! We never did. I'm in love with Charlie and nobody could ever change that, least of all you! I mean, did you seriously think there was something between us? Are you insane?" Joey ranted. "You versus Charlie? Are you kidding me? You don't even come close!"

"Joey…" Lauren said, painfully aware that Joey was shouting and the rest of the crew were now gawping at them.

"I want my final wage right now," Joey said.

"We can work through this if you just give me a minute to explain."

"I don't want your explanation. I don't want your job. And I don't want you. I need my final wage and I'm gone."

Joey was visibly shaking. She felt like she'd done more shouting over the past couple of weeks than she ever had in her life.

"I'll take you to the bank," Lauren said, resigned to the fact that she'd lost her.

***

Charlie jumped when she heard the door close. She listened as footsteps padded towards the bedroom. Joey pushed open the door and hovered, looking tired and drained and yet somehow, still breathtakingly beautiful.

"You were right. I'm sorry," she said, not coming any further into the room.

Charlie swallowed and looked in Joey's eyes.

"I've got everything wrong about this. I didn't listen to you when you were telling me about Lauren. I wasn't aware enough to stop her from kissing me. It honestly lasted for less than a second, Charlie. As soon as I realised what was happening, I pulled away. And it wasn't a case of me choosing her over you. When you hit her, I just panicked. You know I don't cope with violence very well. I can't even watch thrillers or horror films because it's too much for me. And I understand why you were tempted to go with someone else," Joey explained. "You thought I'd betrayed you, that everything was lost. But I'm grateful you didn't go through with it. I'm glad you loved me enough to stop. I'm so sorry for everything. Please don't leave me."

"Leave you?" Charlie asked in shock. "I'd never leave you. I thought you were leaving me."

Joey shook her head and stepped further into the room. She hovered by the bed.

"I'm sorry for everything, Joey," Charlie said. "Can we just get back to normal?"

Joey perched on the bed, never breaking eye contact. She nodded.

"I quit my job," Joey said.

"You did?"

"I love my work. Everyone knows that. But you mean more to me than any career I could ever have. You mean more to me than anything in the world."

Charlie smiled and reached for Joey's hands.

"And you mean the world to me," she assure her, pulling her closer for a kiss.

Joey fell into Charlie's embrace, grateful that everything was resolved.

"I guess our trip's on hold," Charlie said, not really minding.

"No, I've saved up enough and that's all still on. Although I'll need to find a different boat owner to hire from."

Charlie smiled and clung to Joey.

"So, we're okay?"

"We're almost perfect."

"Almost?" Charlie asked curiously.

"I was um… I was going to do this while we were away," she said awkwardly. "That was the whole point. I know this isn't the most romantic situation in the world and I don't even have flowers or anything but… well, the thing is that I… I don't even have a speech prepared."

Charlie caressed Joey's face to try and calm her panic.

"I love you more than anything else in the world," Joey said. "You're my everything, Charlie. You saved me four years ago and you brought happiness back to my life when I didn't think it was possible. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Charlie looked at Joey quizzically as she slipped onto the floor on one knee. Startled, she realised that Joey had been clutching a small box in her hand.

"I know it won't be legally binding or anything but… will you marry me?"

Charlie let her mouth hang open, feeling stunned. Joey looked at her nervously.

"Will you?" she asked.

"Of course I will!" Charlie exclaimed.

Joey broke out into a joyful smile and launched herself back into Charlie's arms, smothering her with kisses. Finally pausing, she took the ring out of the box and placed it on Charlie's waiting finger.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you more," Charlie replied.

***

"So, do you think they'll be okay?" Xavier asked as he and Ruby arrived back at Ruby's house.

Ruby had been fretting about Charlie and Joey all day, not wanting them to break up. It had taken her a little bit of time to get her head around the idea of them as a couple when they'd first go together but now, as far as Ruby was concerned, she had gained another sister.

"I hope so. I'd better go check on Charlie actually. She called in sick today and I doubt she's managed much aside from crying."

Xavier nodded as Ruby wandered towards Charlie's room. He bolted in her direction when he heard her shriek. Standing in the doorway, both were witness to two naked women frozen in panic.

"Have you heard of closing the door?" Ruby squeaked.

Joey was painfully aware that she was still directly on top of Charlie but couldn't move for fear of exposing them both further. Ruby made an incoherent noise and hurried away. Xavier continued to stare until Ruby pulled him roughly away.

"That was seriously hot," he commented.

Ruby looked disgusted.

"No it wasn't! There was thrusting! And gasping! And I can't even bear to think where Joey's hand was!"

She shuddered.

"Very, very hot," Xavier concluded.

She slapped him on the arm.

"That's my sister you're talking about!" she protested.

***

"Oops," Joey said, pulling an awkward face.

She moved to get up and close the door that was still wide open but Charlie held her immobile.

"Don't even think about moving," she warned.

"But, the door…" Joey protested.

"Do I look like I care right about now?"

Charlie kissed her.

"As you were!" she ordered.

Joey giggled and continued what she'd be doing before they were so rudely interrupted, finally relaxing when she heard the door closing quietly on them.

***

A couple of hours later, the two women emerged sheepishly from the bedroom, fully clothed. Xavier and Ruby were watching television.

"You made up then!" Ruby commented, not looking up at them.

Charlie and Joey perched on the other seat.

"Yeah," Charlie said quietly. "Sorry about before. We uh… lost track of time."

"And the concept of other people living here."

Xavier just grinned, remembering what he'd scene.

"Sorry," Joey said.

"Yeah, sorry," Charlie agreed.

Ruby sighed.

"As much as that was a visual I could seriously have lived without, mostly I'm just happy that you've stopped fighting. And it's for good this time, yeah?"

Charlie and Joey both grinned at the same time.

"Actually, we've made up very much for good," Charlie said, offering up her newly ringed finger.

"Oh my... Wow!" Ruby shrieked.

Their smiles grew wider.

"Congratulations," Xavier said warmly.

"I'd hug both but I know where you've just been," Ruby said, still high pitched, her hands fidgeting with excitement.

Charlie and Joey both laughed and held hands.

"Oh, forget it. I can blank it out!"

She leapt into a group hug.

"Do I get to be bridesmaid?" she asked when she withdrew.

"Obviously," Joey said.

"This is the best turnout there could ever have been!" Ruby declared.

***

The evening drew to a close. Ruby had gone beyond the point of elation and Leah had come home to the news and been almost as excited. Now, alone in their bedroom, Joey pulled Charlie close and wrapped her arms around her.

"Are you sure you're happy?" she checked.

"I couldn't even begin to explain how happy I am," Charlie replied.

Joey smiled.

"I'm sorry that I put you through so much stress while I was trying to arrange this," Joey said, looking down.

"Now is not the time for apologies," Charlie told her, tilting Joey's head back up to face her.

"And the trip wasn't a lie," Joey added. "We're still going. I was going to propose there. I had it all worked out in my head. But sometimes the best laid plans need altering. I hope you don't mind."

"It was perfect."

They kissed.

"I love you," they said in unison.

THE END


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